Eighty-nine cents in the ash tray
Half empty bottle of Gatorade rolling in the floorboard
That dirty Braves cap on the dash
Dog tags hanging from the rear view
Old Skoal can, and cowboy boots and a Go Army Shirt
Folded in the back
This thing burns gas like crazy, but that’s alright
People got their ways of coping
Oh, and I’ve got mine

I drive your truck
I roll every window down and I burn up
Every back road in this town
I find a field, I tear it up
Till all the pain’s a cloud of dust
Yeah, sometimes I drive your truck

I leave that radio playing
Same old country station where you left it
Yeah, man I crank it up
And you’d probably punch my arm right now
If you saw this tear rolling down on my face
Hey, man I’m trying to be tough
And Momma asked me this morning, if I’d been by your grave
But that flag and stone ain’t where I feel you anyway

I drive your truck
I roll every window down and I burn up
Every back road in this town
I find a field, I tear it up
Till all the pain’s a cloud of dust
Yeah, sometimes I drive your truck

I’ve cussed, I’ve prayed, I’ve said goodbye
Shook my fist and asked God why
These days when I’m missing you this much

I drive your truck
I roll every window down
And I burn up
Every back road in this town
I find a field, I tear it up
Till all the pain’s a cloud of dust, yeah sometimes,
Brother sometimes

I drive your truck
I drive your truck
I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind
I drive your truck

A native son of Massachusetts, Jared C. Monti was an active, enduring persona. As a teenager he competed in Iron Man triathlons and weightlifting competitions, earning himself a weightlifting championship. But his dream was always to join the military. After he graduated from Bridgewater-Raynham High School in 1994, he enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the famed 10th Mountain Division.

SFC Monti was part of Task Force Spartan in Gowardesh, Afghanistan. Under the command of Sergeant Lybert, Monti’s 16 man unit was tasked with providing intel to Americans in the valley below. As the leader of the artillery team, or forward observers, Monti was second in command. The unit positioned itself on the southern end of a ridgeline 2600 meters above the valley, an isolated position with a superb command of the surrounding area. With steep slopes in front of them and on their flanks, the unit’s only fall-back position was the woods to the north.

Their patrol encountered difficulties when the operation they were supporting was delayed. With dwindling supplies and still days to go until the main operation was launched, Lybert was forced to call in a resupply chopper despite the risk of compromising the patrol’s location.

As daylight waned on June 21, 2006, the unit was hit hard from the wooded area to their north. The enemy had determined the American platoon’s position after it was resupplied by helicopter that afternoon. Hopelessly outnumbered four to one, Monti’s team was blindsided by an ambush in a terrain with little cover.

Immediate casualties were sustained. Monti responded with alacrity, calling in enemy positions for air and artillery support and assuming command after the CO Lybert was killed. Most of the patrol had been able to find cover behind rocks on the southern end of the precipice, with the valley at their backs, but one man lay wounded in the open. After giving the final coordinates to HQ, Monti handed his headset to a soldier and told him that he was now chaos three-five, Monti’s call sign. Always the natural leader, Monti was determined to rescue PFC Bradbury, the soldier stranded in no-man’s-land. Once, twice, three times did Monti rush the open ground under blistering enemy fire, only to be driven back. After being forced back twice, he came within yards of his goal on his third attempt. Just as the artillery and air support he had called in earlier began to rain on the enemy positions, Monti was mortally wounded.

Because of SFC Monti’s firm leadership and quick reaction, the unit resisted being overrun. The example he set reinvigorated his men to fight on, and PFC Bradbury survived the battle. However, Bradbury tragically died afterwards with the medic who was treating him as they were raised into the medevac. The steel harness carrying them snapped; both men fell to their death.

With his parents in attendance at the White House to receive his Medal of Honor posthumously, Jared Monti became only the sixth American to receive our nation's highest military honor since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began. Today, SFC Monti is remembered by family and friends through the Jared C. Monti Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides grants for local students near his hometown in Massachusetts. To learn more about SFC Jared C. Monti, read his official Medal of Honor citation here.

Song Meaningi think the song is about his brother dying, like the lyrics " And Momma asked me this morning, if I’d been by your grave". and it seems as if it was a sudden death, "Shook my fist and asked God why". It could be that he died in the army, "But that flag and stone ain’t where I feel you anyway". that is truly what i think.

Actually the song was taken from actual events. Sgt. 1st class Jared C. Monti lost his life in Afghanistan while trying to save one of the men in his combat unit. He went out not once, but 3 times to try and save him under heavy fire, but sadly both lost their lives in combat. Jared's family went to accept the Highest Medal of Honor for Valor in Sept 2009 for Jared. Jared lost his life on June 21, 2006. Jared's father was doing a radio interview speaking about his son, when a song writer from Nashville heard him and pulled over on the side of the road to write down some notes. Her name is Connie Harrington. she and 2 others sat down and wrote the song and finished the song on June 21 2011, which coincidentally was the 5 year anniversary of Jared's death. Connie heard Jared's father say in the interview that he still had Jared's truck and he still drives it to this day. Paul Monti ( Jared's father) had heard the song, but never knew the song was written about him. Connie had a hard time tracking him down ,but finally did and invited him to a party in Nashville for the song making it to the top of the country charts. Look up Jared c. Monti and you will see the type of soldier that drove that truck. His Wikipedia page does make reference to the song being written about him and his father.
Jared's dad is a friend of my father.

There is an article that was written about the history of the song and it was written by Lee Habeeb
It's titled " I Drive your truck" the story of a fallen soldier, a father's grief and a hit song".
You can find and read this article online. It is worth the read..